After collecting a little bit of US debt last year, the Russians have decided now to start dropping it.
In April, Russia liquidated about half of its stock of US Treasury bonds, up considerably from the rate of liquidation that it had been following in previous months, which amounted only to about $10 billion.
April’s selloff amounted to more than $47 billion.
Sputnik reports:
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Russia sold roughly half of the US Treasury bonds it owned bringing the total to $48 billion, Treasury Department data revealed.
In April, Russia sold $47.5 billion worth of Treasury Bonds, according to the data released on Friday.
The sale puts Russia at 22nd place from 16th in the list of US Treasury bondholders.
The sale comes following the two previous decreases. In March, Russia reduced the amount of US Treasury securities it holds, shedding $1.6 billion of treasury holdings.
In February, Russia reduced its US Treasury bond portfolio by a massive $9.3 billion from the previous months. Previously, Russia had been increasing its treasury holdings, which increased from almost $70 billion in March to more than $92 billion in December.
China has remained the main holder of US bonds, its holding coming to over $1.18 trillion in March. Japan came second, with more than $1.03 trillion.
Maybe they’ve decided that US debt is a bad investment, and therefore decided to invest that capital elsewhere, or perhaps they intend to help it along in a slight inflation. Meanwhile, China and Japan hold the largest amount of US debt, and they are both presently on the receiving end of US trade tariffs, as Trump initiates his global trade war. China, however, gets the special status of an international villain, along with Russia, Iran, and Venezuela.
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